by teamvida | Nov 20, 2019 | AFL News, General Footy
With the AFL season and trade period finished, it’s time to focus on the draft. Many picks and players have been exchanged over the next few weeks as teams prepare to put themselves in the best possible position for next season. Whilst first round draft picks are highly sought after, this doesn’t mean that it is impossible to find value with later selections in both the National Draft and even some from the Rookie Draft. We thought it would be interesting to look at ten of the biggest steals from this decade. These current players; who were overlooked by many clubs; turned out to provide value far beyond their original draft selection.
Luke Parker (Sydney), Pick 40 – 2010
Parker; the substitute in the Swans’ 2012 premiership team; has become one of Sydney’s most prolific players since that game. Parker won Bob Skilton medals for Sydney’s best and fairest in both 2014 and 2017. Parker placed second in 2018. In 2016, he was runner-up to Patrick Dangerfield in the Brownlow Medal with 2016 votes, a season in which he earned All Australian honours. In 2019 Parker was named a co-captain for the Swans.
Jeremy McGovern (West Coast), Pick 44 Rookie Draft – 2011
McGovern endured a difficult start to his career. He was overlooked in the national draft, before spending two years on the rookie list before finally being elevated in 2013. Around the time of his elevation, he was banished from training with the main group for weight issues. What followed this was a change in attitude for McGovern, which translated to four All Australian selections in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. McGovern was also one of the Eagle’s best performers in their 2018 premiership.
Dane Rampe (Sydney), Pick 37 Rookie Draft – 2013
Alongside Luke Parker, Rampe is the co-captain for the Swans. The medium-sized defender is one of the most dangerous backmen in the game. Parker earned All Australian selection in 2016, whilst he was also a member of the 40-man squad in 2019. This year, Rampe also won his first Bob Skilton medal. Rampe played in losing Grand Final sides in 2014 and 2016.
Ben Brown (North Melbourne), Pick 47 – 2013
The 200cm full-forward was overlooked three years in a row before finally being taken by the Kangaroos as a 21-year-old. Brown has won North Melbourne’s goal kicking award every year since 2016, with returns of 41, 63, 61 and 64 goals. He has also been a member of the 40-man All-Australian squad in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
James Sicily (Hawthorn), Pick 56 – 2013
The hot-tempered swingman divides opinions, however, there is no denying his talent on-field. As a defender, Sicily earned a nomination in the 40-man All-Australian squad in 2019. He has three top-ten best and fairest finishes in the past three years. Sicily is the leader of Hawthorn’s backline and is close to their most valued player.
Harris Andrews (Brisbane), Pick 61 – 2014
At 22 years of age, Andrews already holds the title of vice-captain the Brisbane Lions. After a potential All-Australian year in 2018 was cruelled by a broken jaw, he came back an even better player this season to earn his first selection in the team of the year. Andrews has been a vital reason behind the Lions’ surge up the ladder in 2019 and will be integral to their future success, with the potential to become the best defender in the league for the next decade.
Tom Phillips (Collingwood), Pick 56 – 2015
Lightning quick Phillips has been one of the league’s biggest improvers in the last two years. During a breakout 2018 season that included a Grand Final appearance, the wingman averaged 25.5 disposals at just 22 years of age. 2019 was another solid year, as Phillips averaged 23.8 disposals and kicked 12 goals.
Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti (Essendon), Pick 22 Rookie Draft – 2016
After the suspension of 12 senior Bombers for the 2016 season, McDonald-Tipungwuti was elevated straight off the rookie list as a 23-year-old first-year player. He made his debut in Round 1 of that year and went on to play 21 games in his first season. After the return of the suspended players the following season, AMT remained a first-choice selection and has now played 89 games, kicking 100 goals and averaging almost four tackles per game across four seasons.
Tom Stewart (Geelong), Pick 40 – 2016
In 2015, Stewart was playing local footy in the Geelong league, before getting an opportunity with the Cats’ VFL side. He was finally drafted as a 23 year old after dominating at VFL level. Stewart earned his first All Australian selection in just his second season. This was followed in 2019 by a second All-Australian selection, helping the Cats to a preliminary final, all well before reaching his 100 game milestone.
James Worpel (Hawthorn), Pick 45 – 2017
Worpel won his first Best and Fairest award this season at 20 years of age. He enjoyed a stellar 2019 season, averaging 26.5 disposals and 4.9 tackles a game as the star midfielder in the absence of Tom Mitchell. It is evident already that he is on his way to becoming one of the premier midfielders in the competition. The Worpedo will be vital to the Hawks’ chances of becoming a premiership contender in the coming years.
by teamvida | Oct 21, 2019 | Camps and Events, General Footy, Vida News
At our recent holiday program, we had special guests Matt Rowell, Noah Anderson and Trent Bianco attend to help teach the kids a few things.The kids really enjoyed learning from some of the future stars of the AFL. We just wanted to thank the boys for giving up their time and would like to wish them well in the upcoming AFL draft. Good luck boys! (more…)
by teamvida | Oct 21, 2019 | General Footy, Player Development
Coaches should understand the importance of trying to add, and/or set KPI’s for hand-balling to a player running from behind.
What we mean by this is to have a player running past another player who has either marked the ball or received a free-kick. The player receiving the ball should be running at a reasonable pace to try and get the ball forward faster than what the marking player would.
The below example of how fast the ball can be moved forward from a running player, creating a situation where the defence may not be set-up properly.
At all levels of junior footy, this tactic should be taught to your players. One way to try and get your players to do this is to set some KPI’s for the amount of hand-ball receive from stationary. Obviously, with the younger ages you would not be as harsh on the results of them trying the tactics, but as the ages and abilities progress, you should make your players aware of the way it changes the game.
Set a reasonable KPI for your team and remind them during the quarter and half time breaks. When there is a successful passage remind your players and use the resulting KPI’s to justify the results.
Your KPI numbers should be around the following
Tackers – 10’s 5 per game
10 -12’s 2 per quarter
12′-14’s 2-4 per quarter
14 and up 5 per quarter
Advantages of Play
Some of the advantages of the play are:
- Ability to move the ball forwards fast
- Get the opposition out of position
- Take advantage of fast players
- Clear different zones of the field
- Rebound fast out of defence
- Teach your players to ability to look for different options
by teamvida | Oct 14, 2019 | Coach Development, General Footy
This week we will briefly talk about communication from your players. Communication from your players is important for many different reasons. We are going to break this down into two main areas:
- Communication on the field to players
- Communication to coaches
Helping your players improve in both these areas will not only help your players on the field, but also help your as a coach. At all levels of sport, players have different communication techniques and skills, so making your players aware of their own individual traits and personalities can help your team as a whole.
Communication from players on the field
Players on the field need to communicate well to each other in order to work as a well organised, successful team. Teaching your players to use their voice more in certain situations on the field will not only help themselves, but their teammates around them.
Two way talk – This is not a new concept, but not often used in junior footy. What we mean by two way talk is to have players not only calling for the ball, but also calling out the name of the player they are passing too. For example, if you have the ball, you will call out the players name you are wanting to pass to. This helps the receiving player understand the purpose and intention of the ball carrier.
Additionally, communication around stoppages and around general play will also help your players. Teaching players to always talk when the ball is close to them will help all their teammates around them. If a player gets a clearance, make sure players around them are telling him/her how much time they have or how much room they have before they need to distribute the ball.
Another great example of important communication is players who are around stoppages. There quickly needs to be verbal and non verbal communication about the where the ruck will try and tap the ball, and also communication about match-ups.
Communication from players to the coaches.
As many of you coaches are aware, to best help your players, you need their feedback so you can learn from them. Getting your players to communicate their ideas, concerns, positives and negatives to the coach can help the team as a whole.
Some ways in which to seek feedback from your players are to use surveys after each game, or throughout the season. These can be as simple as a one small sheet of paper handed out after the game which can be delivered back to the coach at the next training session. Reviewing the answers to these questions can help you build your knowledge of what your players want or what they are having concerns with.
This can then lead to face-to-face communication in which is important for your players to learn. Get your players to understand that feedback to the coach is welcome. Get them to tell you what they enjoy about the game or their position. Moreover, get them to tell you what they do not like. Again, you want to use this information to make you a better coach to ultimately help with the team’s success on-field and success in skill development.
by teamvida | Oct 7, 2019 | Coach Development, General Footy, Player Development
These diagrams can assist with your set ups for boundary throw ins at almost all levels and age groups. Making your players aware of tactical differences in the game contributes significantly to their overall development.
Take a look through the diagrams below
Mid Wrap
With this boundary throw in set-up, we want to have all your players in front of their opponents on the ruck side of the opposition. This set-up would predominantly be used in the attacking half of the ground. The nominated on-baller would attack the ball whilst their team-mates would block for him/her. The wing would be behind the ruck and could be used as an outlet to transition the ball forward. It’s still important to keep distance amongst team-mates as to not clog up the contest.
Set-ups For Younger Players.
Again, like most of our other tactical set-ups, younger players should start thinking about their position on the field. Please remember to explain to your players the “why” of the set-ups so they understand the purpose.
A suggestion for a boundary throw in set-up is to have your players standing around the contest with at least two meters between them on the closest team-mate. Then you could make a team rule that the closest player to the ball goes for it, whilst the other players either block or receive the ball.
These skills can be worked on in simulated contests at training in two or three small groups with assistant coaches helping. Moreover, small and medium handball grids would also work well in working on creating space, blocking, handballing on 45’s and working as a team.
by teamvida | Sep 30, 2019 | General Footy, Player Development
Defensive running is something that is often looked over in junior footy. Everyone loves kicking goals, however we need to teach our players to stop goals in order to win games. This becomes identified as a deficiency when many players come into senior footy. As junior coaches, we want to develop a player as a whole, therefore teaching players to run defensively is really important.
Running defensively is to run as hard and as intense to the correct positions to influence the game. The running has to be just as intense and as fast as if they are trying to kick a goal.
Even though training has been done for the week, below is a great activity to work on the defensive side of the game.
A sound defensive strategy significantly helps winning games, especially in the finals. So take some time this week to set up for the finals series if your team is playing. You can still have a defensive goal if your team is not playing finals.
Young Players
Without going into too much detail, younger players need to understand to keep running defensively as much as they can. Even though some levels have zones, it’s important to teach players to move defensively until they are no longer needed in the contest.
Teach your players to to always be watching the ball, plus trying to read where the ball is going to go. If your team has the ball, teach your players to always be thinking of positioning. If the ball is turned over, they will be able to better position themselves defensively.
One of the biggest selling points to defensive running in the younger age groups is communicating to the players the purpose of the technique. Every player wants to kick goals, however, you only win games if you score more than your opponent. Explaining all the ways in which players on a team can help win a game of footy will help your players understand the aspects of the game where they don’t need to have the ball to influence the game.
12/13’s and Up
This is where a real progression can take place each year from now. Players need to understand defensive running needs to be just as hard as running to try and get a goal. If this message gets communicated, then a lot of players will understand. Players also need to be taught to take pride in their defensive efforts to help the team’s overall performance.
Things to think about when trying to develop defensive running
– Teach players to turn and sprint to the next available player when the ball gets turned over
– Make sure players are always in the correct position even if in possession of the ball
– Get players to understand two-way running should be the same high intensity
– Teach players to take pride in being defensive
– Teach your taller players to run deep to the goal line on set shots
– Get your players to run into defensive 50 to plug up holes in the defence.
– Teach players to zone off in their defensive running, and if they need to take their non-direct player for a while, that’s fine.
